sea and shore blanket

This blanket definitely wants to live in north west Norfolk. This is my sea, sky and shore blanket, rows and rows of colours to conjure up dreams of blue salty seas with white horses riding the waves, wide open saltmarshes, wild scudding clouds, wet shingle beaches, bitter chocolate seaweed and pale opal shells.

I began it in February to 'use up' some of the yarn from recent projects... one thing somehow led to another and I must admit to buying quite a bit more wool along the way... but I'm delighted with the end result. Crocheting in rows rather than blocks means that the finished blanket has a much drapier feel than granny squares, and the openness of treble crochet stitches mean it's not too heavy while still being comforting and warm. I love it.

Now then, no crochet addict worth her salt would finish one project without having the next one busy in her head, so here's a work-in-progress pic of what I'm doing next:

This time, it truly is an odds-and-ends project... I have set myself the challenge of buying NO NEW BALLS OF WOOL... so it's a lovely mishmash of blues, greens and browny colours left over from everything else. The small size of these squares (about 2 1/2") means that only about 5g of yarn is needed for each one, so even the tiniest scraps can be used. They're also really speedy to make... each one can be finished, attached to its neighbour and the ends woven in, in less than ten minutes. This is absolutely ideal for me, the most easily bored crocheter in town.

Each square is made up of groups of treble clusters, joined using Lucy's cunning technique, which results in a lovely thick and cosy textile... ideal for chilly car journeys (we have a forty-year-old car) or sitting outside with a cup of tea on a winter's day.

The back looks a bit Sophie Digard, don't you think?